Food insecurity persists, local nonprofit asks for help

Alaskans, including many in Petersburg, have experienced heightened food insecurity for the past several years - ever since the Dunleavy administration cut more than 100 jobs from the state's Division of Public Assistance in 2021, which left offices understaffed and led to a severe, multiyear backlog of applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Thousands of Alaskans were left without the food aid they needed.

To combat the backlogs Gov. Dunleavy added millions to recent years' state budgets to upgrade computers at the Division of Public Assistance and hire tem...